Fame and Secrets
by kkwriting17
Summary: Post-Infinity War. Original Female Character/Spiderman. Tony and Peter both survive against Thanos. Katelyn, Tony's daughter, falls in love with Peter, and they begin dating after the war. How will their lives change when the press finds out, and how can Peter continue to hide Spiderman when he is constantly being followed by reporters? 8 chapters, may make into series.
1. Going Public

I shifted in my seat in the limo. It wasn't like I hadn't done an interview before, my last name made sure of that. But today was different. I didn't want to tell the world this, but Parker and I screwed up. He was supposed to announce his identity this month, join the Avengers, but because of me, he was stuck talking about this instead.

Now I am good at hiding from the press, don't get me wrong. I mean, I'm Katelyn Stark for crying out loud. Everything I do is a big deal. My first grade less than a 100 in class became thirty articles and three interviews. This time, though, I was careful. We made sure to not publicize our relationship, and we only kissed in my lab, since the footage could only be access by Mom, Dad, and me. Yes, Spidey and I are dating. It's a long story, but basically, when he died in Infinity War I learned how much he meant to me, and we mutually decided to start dating. Dad was fine with it because Peter is the only boy in the whole world he deems worthy of me. He treats him like an actual son, so the idea of him becoming his son-in-law is just too great. Plus, dating Spidey is pretty safe. His identity is secret, and he has super strength.

I first met Peter during our freshman year. Dad transferred me to Queens because Midtown is the best school nearby, and the decathlon team promised to keep my last name a secret. Kind of. Most people knew, and I'm hit on all the time, but no one outside the school bothers me too much about it. And the press rarely comes, really. Just the life of a Stark, right?

The thing that made me most nervous today, however, was seeing the world's reaction. I was every middle-school boy's heartthrob, and this was my first ever relationship, public or not. The one time we kissed outside the tower! We doubled checked, honestly. Just our luck that a reporter lived in the apartment by the alley we kissed in. How was I supposed to know?

"Kate, hey, Kate. We're here," Happy lightly said. He understood. He'd been there since my first press conference (which was when I was six, by the way). I swallowed.

"Let's do this. Where's Peter?" I replied, grabbing my handbag and smoothing out my dress. To answer my own question, I tracked Karen in my electronic contact lenses. I had all the newest tech. Anything to keep me safe, Dad always said. I knew to watch Pete disappear hurt him, so I let him be quite the helicopter dad. I had my own nanotech suit, only for emergencies, and I agreed not to fight crime since it would stress him out. My contacts were built in case my suit ever malfunctioned or someone like the Mandarin kidnapped me since the heat wouldn't affect them. But mainly, I used them to find Peter and Dad when they were out. Karen showed up about a mile away. "Did he really go patrolling today? If he's hurt, I'm going to kill him," I muttered. Suddenly Karen's signaled disconnected, and someone sprinted past me. I would never be used to his super speed.

"Hello, love," he whispered, leaning into me. I pushed him off.

"You're late," I grumbled. "Let's just get this over with."

"Agreed."

We held hands since we were now public and confidently walked inside. Really, I was very overdressed. It wasn't a gala or party, just an interview at Vanity Fair. I think Dad chose them just to spite that one reporter. And the limo was definitely overkill. We were at an office building, for crying out loud! Why was my dad so weird? Any normal star would have just ridden in a Mercedes or something, but no, Katelyn had to ride in a limo, because I'm special. My dress wasn't floor length, at least, just a blue dress (to complement my blue eyes) with long lace sleeves. It went down to around my knees and poofed out like a princess dress after the mid-drift seam. My curly brown hair was left down and allowed to curl, at my own request. I can't stand straightening my hair. My handheld wallet was a simple silver to match my hoop earrings.

A young intern lead us upstairs. She looked about as nervous as I felt. She obviously needed some practice. No one should look so nervous. It's a sign of weakness. Mom taught me how to look just as intimidating as any man could and made sure I interviewed well. I was the heir to the biggest company in the world, so it was kind of important. But today, I tried to look happier. If I was going to have a boyfriend, he was going to have to be strong for me today. I was going for more of a starstruck look, not too serious. I wanted the relationship to look healthy and awesome. Not that it wasn't, but Parker and I were more sarcastic and funnier than a picture-perfect couple, and we _both_ knew the press wouldn't like that. He worked part-time as a photographer, and even though he specialized in Spider-man, he knew what we had to look like today.

"Here we are; have a seat. Can I get you anything?" The intern rambled, much too quickly. I silenced my nerves and forced myself to look at ease.

"A water would be nice," I replied with a small smile. As nervous as I was, Peter looked worse. He was normally behind the camera, not in front of it. I decided to answer for him as well. "Two, actually. Right, baby?" I asked, praying I used the right name. Darling and honey seemed too old, but baby was a bit informal.

"Oh, yes, thank you," he grinned, pulling himself together. "Sweetie, why don't we sit," he said with a warning glare. Peter obviously was thinking exactly what I was. Sweetie was a much better word than baby; I had gone too casual.

A few minutes later, the interviewer came in with the waters. "Hello," she smiled politely, handing them to us. The company obviously chose a woman since it was a relationship interview. Men always seem too competitive to listen to other's love life. "You must be Peter," she offered her hand to him.

"Pleasure to meet you," Peter said, his adorable accent cutting off the 'It's a'. He relaxed, forgetting the camera altogether. "And you are?" he inquired.

"Oh! How rude of me. I'm Katherine," the reporter replied, a little too warmly for comfort.

"Thank you for having us today, Katherine," I interrupted, breaking her eye contact with MY Pete. Yes, I was a bit protective of him. I mean, that was warranted, considering he had already died since I met him. "Now, I hate to be brash," I talked slowly to seem politer. "But we have many things to do today. May we get started?" I asked, throwing in the 'we' for good measure. Peter, the amazing boy that he is, understood my hidden meaning and scooted a tad closer to me, putting my hand in his on his thigh. Man, I could have kissed him right then and there!

The interview went relatively quickly. They really only asked the basics. 'How long have you known each other?', blah blah, etcetera. The only question that came as a surprise was "Now you two are both on the decathlon team that recently competed at D.C. Peter, you were missing for part of this competition. Where were you, and were you two dating at the time?" Peter looked confused, but I knew exactly what they wanted. They thought my Spidey _cheated_ on me! I chose to answer this one, in a huff of anger.

"Peter and I had not dated at that point since Liz and he were together. She moved away, however, and they had a mutual break-up in 2015, about two years before Peter and me ever even toyed with the idea of dating. We've only been together for a year now. And as for why Peter was missing, he later told us his cousin's wife's sister lived in D.C. and had been diagnosed with incurable cancer. It had spread too far before it was found, so he saw her right before she died. He had to race there, which is why we didn't know in advance." I made a mental note to bribe a hospital in D.C. for some false records while Alex, my kind A.I., knew I had lied and texted Dad to fix the problem. Within a few minutes, I received a confirmation and death certificate. Man, my dad was the best. After that, the interview went without a hitch and we headed down to the lobby.

We left and met Happy downstairs. "Would you like to ride back to the tower with us for dinner, Peter?" I asked not breaking character. Of course, Peter ate dinner with us most nights, but he caught onto the formalities and replied.

"I would love that, darling," he said, wrapping one arm around me protectively. I swooned under his hand. Claiming me and calling me darling? He couldn't have done a better job today. I pecked him on the cheek to show my gratitude.

After we were in the car, I immediately started relaxing. The windows were one-way glass, so I took off my jewelry and heels. Finally, I turned toward my Spidey. "You are the best, babe," I giggled at him.

"Woah! There wasn't anything in that water, right?" he asked, confused by my stupid state.

"She's always like this after an interview. She says talking to idiots takes all her energy." Happy grunted, replying for me.

"I'm a mess!" I laughed, throwing my hands in the air fake-dramatically. Peter laughed too, which only made me smile more. He really was the greatest. I snuggled into him, putting my head on his chest. He let me because he knew how much physical touch meant to me, and he lay his hand on my shoulder. I was like Tony in that way, loving physical contact. Except I was much less awkward about it. I wasn't afraid of the power of a hug. I had always wanted a relationship where I could cuddle, and I had openly told Parker this. It's been a year, I thought cuddling wasn't beyond us at this point. We pulled into the tower's lot and drove into the underground garage. I couldn't walk through the parking lot looking like this, so Happy had us take the private elevator straight to the levels that were Alpha clearance only. Specifically, the levels with Dad's and my labs and the family's sleeping wing.

Peter carried me bridal style to my king-sized bed (such is the life of a Stark), then went to the kitchen to get us a few snacks. But before he could come back, my dad was standing in the doorway, concern pulling at the corners of his eyes. I sat up.

"Are you alright? How did it go?" He asked, trying to imitate Steve with his calming technique.

"I'm fine. Don't give me a Rogers look, Dad, I can't stand it. I know you mean well, but it just reminds me of how he hurt you," I said, my carefree attitude gone.

"Sorry, sorry. You just have that post-interview look again," he laughed, but the smile didn't reach his eyes or ears. "It went okay, then?"

"Yeah, because you haven't seen all the footage already, Dad," I teased. "Whatever, I'll play. It went pretty well. The interviewer flirted with Pete a bit, but I played the protective card."

"Oh, did she?" Dad replied sarcastically, obviously having already known about the whole affair. "Personally, I could have done a much better interview, but I think you did alright."

"Daaaadddddd!" I groaned.

"I'm just playing," he joked. "You did great, pumpkin."

Just then, Peter came back in with the snacks. "Oh, hey Mr. Stark!" Peter grinned.

"Tony, kid, call me Tony. We've been over this." Dad shook his head. They looked at each other lovingly, like the father-son duo I knew they were.

"Alright, you two lovebirds. Break it up, I'm hungry over here." I said, catching their attention. It didn't have the effect I was hoping for, though.

"Is she always like this?" Peter asked, sticking his tongue out at me.

"I'm stuck with her, but I'm still trying to figure out why you stay with her," Tony replied, then proceeded to come over and mess up my hair.

"Hey!" I started, then gave up and fell into his hand massaging my scalp. They both laughed. Peter came and sat next to me, placing the snacks in front of me. He'd brought Oreos, Goldfish, and Peanut Butter M&M's. "Man, you are going to get me so fat," I said, already ripping open the M&M's. Of course, Peter would bring my favorite sweets. He was always doing thoughtful things like that. Honestly, he was an amazing boyfriend. Once I had broken into them, he held his mouth wide open, waiting. I tossed one in the air, and he caught it with his perfect spidey-reflexes. I grinned. I loved our dysfunctional family.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first time publishing, so I hope you like it! Also, the pilot chapter is a bit long; the next few will be shorter. I will try to update once a week, and this story will probably have ten or so chapters. This is my take on Tony and Pepper as parents, but I will take ideas and recommendations. Thanks! -kk


	2. Katelyn vs Press

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Just wanted to upload again today so people wouldn't lose interest. I know only one chapter isn't a lot to go off of. I also wanted to thank you all; I was truly shocked to see so many people were actually reading my work. So here's chapter two!**

 **-** o-

"Good evening, New York! I'm your host, Davey Moore, and this is Night Time in New York. Today, we have quite the gossip for you. Local genius Katelyn Stark has gone public with her first ever relationship! The lucky guy, well you'll have to stay to find out. But for now, here's the weather in your area." the tv boomed as Mom turned on the news. She started to change it, but I asked her to keep it on.

"I want to see how we did," I told her.

"Fine, but if it gets bad, I'm turning it off," she answered. "And we'll watch it after dinner," she added, turning it off anyway.

Suddenly, a portal opened in the living room, and Dr. Strange and Thor stepped out. Thor had been spending most of his time with Strange and Dr. Banner ever since Loki died. Strange had been helping him learn to govern his people, who now lived in Norway. The United Nations wasn't too happy that the Asgardians were on Earth, however. Something about their extended life-span or whatever. Not that they could complain; they were terrified of Thor. I jumped out of my seat. "Uncle Thor, Dr. Strange!" I cried, running to hug them. "How's Norway? Or is it Asgard now?"

"Hi, Mr. Dr. Strange! Hi, Mr. Your Highness God Thor!" Peter grinned- jumping from the ceiling- like the little fanboy he was. I loved hearing him embarrass himself in front of Thor. He never knew what to call him.

"Hello, man of spiders. Hello, daughter of Stark." Thor boomed, a smile spreading on his face. "May we join you for dinner?"

Mom smiled and replied, "Sure. As long as you left someone in charge back at Asgard."

Before they could reply, Dad walked in. "Hey! Point Break! Facial hair bro! How's it going?" he grinned at his nicknames.

Steven groaned. "Hey, Tony," he said, pretending to not want to be here, but I knew better. He loved Tony like a brother. We all sat down, and Pete served what somewhat resembled lasagna. No one complained about the bad food, though. We were all just happy to be together. It had been a year since Infinity War ended- technically four, depending on your perspective, time travel is weird- but we all still felt giddy with victory. Except for me. I had wanted to join in on the fight (my suit could have been a ton of help), but for Dad's sake, I agreed to sit and watch. It was awful, watching him fail like that. He was a mess. I pushed the memories aside. That was over; we won. After dinner, we gathered back around the tv. Mom had recorded the show from earlier. Peter and I dove for the couch, taking up as much room as possible. Dr. Strange and Thor sat on the floor, and Mom and Dad sat on the other end of the L-shaped couch.

"Hey, where's Uncle Bruce, Thor?" I asked, my voice muffled from Peter's chest. We were laying together, Peter spread out on his back, and I cuddled beside him, laying my head on his stomach.

"He's watching Asgard. I wish he could have joined us," he replied, a frown growing on his face. I would have to investigate that later.

Dad turned the tv on and pulled up the show. "Welcome back, folks, it's time for the main event," the surround-sound speakers shot out. "I know you're all desperate to know who this mysterious boy is. Well, you heard it from us first, it's been confirmed that Katelyn Stark is dating Peter Parker, another boy at her school, Midtown Tech in Queens!" I groaned. I was never going to escape the press now. They weren't supposed to mention what school it was! "Peter is on her decathlon team and is a fellow genius. Currently, he sits right behind her in GPA." Now it was Peter's turn to groan. We had an ongoing competition regarding grades. I stroked his hair and laughed. "The couple has been going out for about a year now, and we're just now hearing about it!" The host complained. "Katelyn is very protective of her personal life, but this time, we got an inside look." The infamous alleyway kiss photo showed on the tv. "Who is this handsome, bright young man? And what has Katelyn so protective of their relationship? While we might not know now, stay tuned. Just remember, Night Time in New York has all your celebrity gossip news." With that, Dad clicked the tv off.

"Well," he said, "that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"Good job, sweetie. They don't have anything exponential," Mom commented, her PR brain flowing.

Pete placed a kiss on my head and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "School's going to be interesting tomorrow, isn't it?" he said, and I just laughed. "I've got to get home and patrol, see you in the morning," he got up and headed out. Right before he got in the elevator, I called out.

"Wait!" I ran to him and kissed him, on the lips for the first time today. He pulled me in the elevator so we could keep kissing in private. Our tongues touched, and we gently moved our lips around one another. All our kisses were like that, gentle. But I didn't mind because it felt better than any kiss I had ever had before. Every kiss with him was like asking him out all over again. So maybe we never said, "I love you". That didn't mean we weren't feeling something. We got to the ground floor and pulled apart. He left, and I headed back upstairs, now giddy.

When I got up there, I was met with a very happy dad. You would think he'd be mad at our PDA, but no, the playboy in him thought it was hilarious.

"You two kids are adorable," he said playing with my hair. It was his favorite form of affection, messing with my hair. Hugs weren't his thing.

"Yeah, whatever," I replied, escaping his reach. I started toward my room. It was late, and tomorrow was a school day. Luckily, I didn't have any homework.

"Goodnight, I love you!" he called by me, allowing me to leave.

"Love you too, Dad," I grinned. The press may know, but everything still felt right. Maybe it was the kiss, or maybe it was the fact that for the first time in a long time, Dad seemed genuinely happy.

-o-

I woke to the sound of Alex calling me. "Katelyn, it's time to get up," her voice rang out over my room. My covers were pulled off me by my robot, Dummy 2.0. I preferred to call him Eddie, however. Since it seemed like I had no other choice, I dragged myself out of bed. Alex called back out her daily question, "Would you like help getting dressed?"

Normally I don't want any help, but I was tired. I knew today would be hard, so I gave her an affirmative. In less than two minutes, a group of four ladies barged into my room. They were the ones who usually dressed me up for galas and other social events. Silently, they picked out an outfit and began prepping me. Obviously, they had seen the news, and they didn't want to bother me too much. I showered, then they pampered me and styled my hair. They put it half up half down in a mini bun, letting the down hair curl fully. The outfit they picked was a simple white Tommy Hilfiger shirt with the iconic stripes across it, paired with mom style jeans that came up to where the cropped tee ended. They gave me a simple black choker, with a gold bracelet and earrings. For shoes, I was wearing simple white vans, and if it got cold, I had a black bomber jacket with flowers all over it. Once I was dressed and ready, I headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Hey, honey, how's your morning going?" Dad asked. He always waited to work until after he dropped me off at school. Out of the two of them, I saw Dad more often. Probably because of his emotional health. He had to be super protective of me. I didn't mind, though. It was nice to talk to him. On the table, there were blueberry spider-man shaped pancakes.

"Really, Dad?" I said, but I was grinning.

"What? I'm just supporting my favorite protector of Queens," he said dramatically. We ate in relative silence. He seemed to understand. Of course, he did, I thought. He'd been through this before. Dad knew how stressed I was and was trying to be supportive. Before I headed back to my room to get ready, I kissed his cheek gratefully.

"Thanks, Dad. You're the best!" I whispered. I got back to my room, brushed my teeth, and took the elevator down to the garage. Instead of Dad ready to take me, however, I ran into Happy. "What are you doing down here, Hap?" I asked, then mentally scolded myself. He was busy with work most likely.

"I thought I'd help take you to school today," he said, surprising me. "Tony will come too," he awkwardly added on in a rush. "We just thought you might need some, uh, security."

"Okay!" I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. I dumped my french horn and backpack in the back seat and crawled in after them. I'd let Happy have the front, poor guy was probably stressed too.

Happy hopped in the passenger seat. He always let Dad drive. After all, his parents had died in a car, so Dad wanted to be in charge. Speaking of Dad, he emerged from the elevator and climbed into the car. We left in silence, so Dad turned on the radio. It was a bit of a drive, so we might as well have music. All my good mood from yesterday was gone. I was somber and not looking forward to school. I tried to distract myself with details around me. The car was an all-white Audi, classic fancy car, but big enough to have a backseat. Dad loved his Audis. The interior was a bright red if you're into that. Personally, I thought it was a bit much, but whatever. It looked cool from the outside, so it was fine. Eventually, we pulled up to the school. At least fifty reporters were stationed outside, and as we drove in they crowded the car. Happy got out first and pushed them back, and Dad handed me a pair of sunglasses.

"Starks vs. Press. We always wear sunglasses. Welcome to the big leagues, kid," he smiled, trying to ease my mind. I had done this before, but usually, they were looking for my parents, not me.

I got out of the car after Happy, and Dad followed me. I hadn't expected him to come in, but I appreciated it. He guided me past them while Happy cleared a path. We finally got inside, and I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. What was with me? I was better than that This was just part of my life, so why was I so uptight? Happy took us to the office.

"Guys, I'm fine. I should probably head to the cafeteria. We sit there until school starts," I said, shrugging my dad's arm off my shoulder.

"Absolutely not!" Dad said, almost yelling. I was shocked; I hadn't seen him like this since Peter and everyone else disappeared. The amount of press must have freaked him out. He composed himself before continuing, "We need to address this with the staff." He called out to an office member, placing his arm back over me protectively.

"Hi there, how can I help you?" she asked. My dad took his glasses off. The office lady tried to hide a small gasped, but it was obvious enough. Dad didn't even blink.

"My daughter, I'm not sure if you've seen the news, but her school has been released to the public. We're fighting a lot of press, which is fine, but can you help us out? I'd like to make sure her classmates don't bother her as well. That can be very distracting from schoolwork." he said, putting his press/fan smile on his face. He was a great actor, I'll give him that, but I knew him. I could see how tense he was and I saw him tug at his shaking right arm.

"Oh, uh, I can talk to her teachers about it, but I can't promise anything during lunch. Maybe she could eat in the library?" she replied, glancing at me.

I interrupted. "That would be great. Thank you," I said before Dad could get worse. I addressed him quietly. "It's fine, Dad. That'll be enough. You and Hap can go."

"Are you sure, sweetie? I just don't want you to get hurt," he frowned, his Protective Dad™ face on.

"Really," I said, brushing his arm off and heading toward the cafeteria before he could change his mind.

When I got in there, all the students turned to look at me. I reminded myself that these were just classmates, and with as much confidence as I could muster, I marched over to Peter's table. I yanked him up, all eyes still on us, and kissed him. He looked shocked, but he kissed me back. Unlike most of our kisses, I pushed against him and aggressively shoved his lips into mine. He pulled away, uncertain.

"Kate…. Don't give them what they want," he begged, but I could see the conflict in his eyes. He was upset.

"What if it's what I want too?" I asked, leaning back in for another kiss. I didn't want him to be sad, too!

He pulled me into a corner, getting us away from the crowd. "It's not, we both know that." he scolded. "Come on, you've dealt with the press before. You can do this. I believe in you, but this," he gestured around us, "this _isn't_ you." This time, he leaned in and kissed me. He just barely touched my lips, gently pulling me back to reality. I was just as bad as Dad, pretending to be fine all the time. He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, then pulled me back into the cafeteria. Everyone was whispering about us. "Yeah, I'm dating her! Bet you're jealous!" Peter cried out, and the whispering stopped. We sat down, and once everyone was sure we were done, they went back to their private conversations.

"Thanks, babe. You really know me, don't you?" I said, blushing under his gaze. I felt much better now with Peter to ground me.

"Just a little bit. We've met," he quipped back, getting an honest laugh from me. That seemed to be enough for him, and we sat next to each other, hands intertwined.


	3. School Trouble

**Author's Note: Hey guys! This chapter is a little mundane, sorry, but it's important to the plot later. Updates will really only come once a week now that school has started. Please leave reviews and favorite if you like it!**

-o-

After we were dismissed from the cafeteria, Peter and I had to go our separate ways. His class was all the way across the school from mine. Groups formed around both of us almost instantaneously. Pete was bombarded by guys asking for relationship advice and flirtatious girls, and I was surrounded by jocks and other guys.

"What's Parker got over me, babe?" Thomas, our wide receiver, asked. He wrapped his arm around me and laughed.

I shoved it off in disgust. "You wish, asshole," I growled as I shoved my sunglasses back on. This was a mess. Luckily, my best friend Mary Jane was to the rescue.

"Back off, she has better things to do," she said, guiding me through the halls. Half the school was following us around, but she talked to me to pull my attention away from them. _Thank God for MJ!_ I thought. We pushed everyone away and barely managed to get to first period on time. Once class started, I texted her through my contacts, knowing her phone was probably out. History was so easy; neither one of us ever paid attention, and we were still nailing the class.

"Hey," my message read, "Thanks. You're a lifesaver."

"Sure thing, Stark," a reply appeared right away. MJ always called me Stark when I was upset. It was like she knew that reminding me that Iron Man was my dad would give me the strength I needed. "I saw the news. You and Parker, huh? Jk lol," she wrote. MJ already knew, of course. She was the first to know, excluding Ned. We told him first because Mr. Guy in the Chair just had to know everything regarding Peter. MJ and I had more boundaries, but we were still very close.

I laughed under my breath, catching the teacher's attention. Lucky for me, my contacts couldn't be taken from me, so I was off the hook. She glared at me, but I didn't back down. I was a Stark, it was what I do best. There was no proof I was texting, other than MJ's phone. And no one ever noticed her; that was what she did best. We were a great team.

The first half of the day flew by without a hitch after that. Lunch, however, was a different story.

-o-

MJ and I walked into the cafeteria, mustering as much confidence as possible. Everyone turned to look at us, but I just found my Spidey in the lunch line and stopped next to him.

"Hey! No cutting, loser. Especially not with Penis Parker," Flash spit from behind us. _Ugh, not this kid_ , I thought, my eye roll so obvious you could hear it.

"Aw, it's alright, sweetie. I'm not buying anything. And Mr. Parker here is just minding his own business, so I suggest you do the same," I countered, clicking something on my nano-tech earpiece. He was not messing with me today. A gauntlet formed around my hand and powered on, and I flicked my wrist. Flash flinched, and MJ and I broke out laughing. The gauntlet disappeared, and I grabbed Pete's wrist, pulling him ahead in the line. Only then did I notice he was stroking my hair and that I was gripping my left wrist tightly. No, no! This was backward! He was the one being hurt, so I should be the one consoling him. Even as I had laughed at Flash, my anxiety was kicking up, and Pete knew. He knew all the signs; he even recognized them before me. He quickly got us both food while leaving me to MJ. She hugged me and guided me to the library since we had to eat there until this all blew over. Ned and they were the only friends I had told about my anxiety attacks, and they knew exactly what would comfort me. MJ was an expert at taking me away from situations before they got bad. I let her pull me away, but I really should have checked to see how Flash reacted. I really should have noticed the crowd of teachers forming around him. I should have avoided the situation completely. But I didn't.

"Kate, baby. Look at me," Peter said, sitting me down with our food. He carried three trays, two for his fast metabolism, and one for me.

"No, no, it's all wrong," I whimpered. "Everything today is wrong."

"Nothing is wrong. We're here, together. That's all that matters, okay?" He mused, pushing my chin up and forcing me to look at him. He kissed me on both cheeks, and I slowly came back from my panic. Good thing, too, otherwise I wouldn't have been prepared for what happened next. Sometimes I was just like my dad. An irresponsible, trouble-making mess. I shouldn't have made Flash mad.

Suddenly, our AP bust into the library, causing everyone to stop reading and stare at her. In her kindest voice, she asked, "May I please see Peter Parker and Katelyn Stark in the office? I've already called your parents." I gulped. _Crap, Flash!_ I thought. I wanted to kill that kid for hurting Peter. My fists clenched, but I rose from my seat.

We followed her out to the office, and to Peter's surprise, we were met by a very angry Mr. Stark. "What happened?" he seethed, frustration rolling off him.

"Mr. Stark! Sir! Um…" Peter trailed off. I came to the rescue and spoke up.

"The jerk kid Flash I've mentioned before called him Penis Parker, and I stood up to him," I answered flatly. "It's been a rough day," I added under my breath, but Peter's super-hearing picked up on it, and he looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Then why on earth," Dad continued quietly, so only I could hear him, "Did Fri alert me that you activated your suit?!"

Only then did I notice the wrinkles of stress on his forehead and his hair sticking up. It looked like the only styling it got today was being pulled on. He must have thought there was a threat at the school. "Dad, I was just trying to scare him. I didn't power up, just got a gauntlet out, okay? No need to worry. Oh, and do you have pills on you? I had a minor panic episode, nothing major," I said, trying to calm him down. I tried to downplay to the panic attack, so he wouldn't freak out.

We were interrupted by the assistant principal again. "May we take this to my office, please?" she asked. "Where is Peter's aunt?" she asked, noticing the wrong ratio of kids to parents.

"She was busy, and I am his next emergency contact," Tony said, hiding his fists in his jacket. He was mad, but I wasn't sure if it was at me or Flash. I silently prayed it was the second one. Dad could be mean when he was mad. Like crazy mean. "Let's deal with this," he turned to me, waiting for us to head in the small room. _Dang it_ , I realized, _It's both of us_. That was the worst possible option. Now I would have to deal with his anger _and_ his frustration. All he did was try to protect Peter and me, and he would go crazy later since he failed today.

"So, according to your fellow student, Flash, you two approached him and started to threaten him about decathlon. You, Miss Stark," she practically spat out the name, "activated an unauthorized weapon in an attempt to hurt him. Does this all seem correct?" She glared between me and Peter, and Peter squirmed in his chair, looking like he was ready to confess to all these things he had never done. I just sat there trying to steady my breathing.

"All due respect, Miss," Dad spoke up first, "but this is not the story I heard. As my daughter is constantly under stress from the press, I have a camera recording her that my security sees. I believe the video from earlier would surprise you. Would you like me to show it to you?" He asked, not bothering to act like he did for the press. He was mad, and it showed. Dad pulled up the footage and played it out. I grimaced at Peter's face when Flash called him out, and Pete lay a comforting hand on my wrist. The video really highlighted how upset he gets when Flash make fun of him.

"Oh!" the AP tried to hide her surprise, but she failed miserably. "Usually we don't look at the footage and try to trust the students. But I was clearly misinformed. Peter, does Flash behave this way often?"

We all turned to look at him. His leg twitched with nerves. "Well, yeah, but it's not usually physical. Only a few times," he said, looking down. He swore slightly and silently when he remembered that this time wasn't physical and that he had released more than needed. I looked at him, shocked. _Why did I not know about this?_ I thought. Sure, I knew Flash was a jerk, but I never knew that my Pete had to deal with that. Peter was obviously trying to keep from us how bad the situation had gotten. "And we need him for the team; I didn't want him to be kicked off it because of me. He typically just calls me names and… uh..." he paused there, staring even more intently at his shoes. I breathed out a breath I hadn't noticed I was holding.

"Uh… What?" I was practically steaming from the ears. "What else?" Alex began to play a soft tune in my head in attempts to calm me down, but it wasn't working. My knuckles turned white as I continued to clench and unclench my fists. _How did I not know?_

"uhhhhh… he blames my parents and Ben's deaths on me," he added on in a rush. Tears were pooling in his eyes. Or were they my tears? I couldn't tell anymore.

This time it was Dad's turn to freak out; I was too exhausted. "HE DOES WHAT?" he roared. He stood up, fuming, and popped out three pills, one for me and two for him. We both tried our anxiety release techniques. I counted the tiles on the ceiling, and he began to assess his surroundings.

"It's not a big deal," Peter tried.

"No, it's not. It's just your _mental health_ at stake," I grumbled, despite my dad's glare from me talking out of turn. Even in this situation, he got mad over the little things. I kicked at the carpet, signaling we'd talk about it later. This didn't call for politeness; someone had hurt MY PETER! Screw the press rules!

"Peter, this is a very big deal," our AP said, writing something in her notes. "Mr. Stark, I will have the Flash problem addressed, but surely you understand we must punish your daughter for threatening a student, especially when she did not know this occurred often?" she pressed, trying to tighten her hold on the situation. "The councilors can talk more with Peter later, but I really need to address the weapons issues," she gestured over to me and my nanotech earpiece.

"I was just being an upstander!" I cried, trying to relieve the tension. "Just like you're always telling us to," I said. I couldn't get this on my record. Not now. The press would murder me. SI would lose so many stocks! This day just got worse and worse.

Dad whirled on me. "No. An upstander asks them to stop, but they DO NOT, under any circumstances, threaten a civilian. No suit of mine is to be used that way, do you understand?" the anxiety was still ever-present in his eyes, but his jaw was tight with anger. "And don't think this conversation is over. Your mother will be hearing about this, young lady."

My mouth opened and closed. I had nothing to say to that, so I cast my glance downward in guilt. I knew he was mad, but I had never seen Dad so angry with me! They continued talking, something about detention for a week as long as the press stayed in the quiet. I wasn't listening anymore. Tears built up in my eyes, and I popped another pill from Dad's pocket. How many had I had? He looked stressed, but for the first time ever, I was in worse shape. It wasn't a full-blown panic attack like earlier- I could still stand on my own- But man, I really couldn't breathe. Parker was being bullied under my nose. Ugh, I was an idiot! _How did I not know?!_

Suddenly everyone stood up, and I realized I had zoned out for the end of the conference. I only caught the AP'S last sentence. Apparently, we could leave early today to calm down. Peter had the option to stay, but Dad dragged him out the door and smothered him with apologies. Dad and I both blamed ourselves for the Flash incident. He looked sick with guilt. "Kid, I'm so, so sorry," I heard him say.

I walked up to Parker and smacked him. "Why didn't you tell us?" I asked, all the anger from today's events evident in my tone.

"Well, can you blame me? This isn't exactly better than being bullied. Now," he sighed, "you're in detention."

At that, Dad was riled back up. "No, kid, you definitely should have told us. I'm glad you're okay, and I know you can't fight back, what with super-strength and all, but this isn't fine. You're not off the hook either, by the way. May is going to be so mad," he chuckled, but the smile didn't last long, nor did it reach his eyes.

We hopped in the armored van that Dad used to evade the press. He was prepared, I'd give him that. The drive back to the tower was long and awkward. We were silent, and all of us were dead tired. All that I could think was _How did I not know? Why did I let Peter get hurt right under my nose?_

-o-

And yes, Mom and May were extremely mad when they found out, and yes, I was definitely not off the hook. To put it lightly, Dad was pissed, and it showed in the punishment. I stayed under his supervision for the remainder of the day, and he assured me there was more to come. I wasn't even allowed to see Peter after school, and Peter was prohibited from Spiderman. Alex was taken offline, and my phone was confiscated. My earpiece was left with me, but only for protection, and it was only able to be turned on by direct orders from Dad. Karen wasn't allowed to help me with anything, and FRIDAY would only update me twice a day. Basically, I came straight home from school and had no technology. The only fun thing I could do was hang in my labs, but Dad or Mom had to approve any of my experiments.

 _This is going to be a long two weeks_ , I thought, shaking my head.


	4. Punishments and Injuries

_**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is a bit short! I was swamped this week. Please leave a review if you enjoy it!**_

 _I should have noticed earlier._ The drumming of my fingers on my lap tapped out the words, a repeating mantra in my head. _I should have noticed earlier._ My Spidey always went patrolling, but he never stayed out so late. _I should have noticed earlier. This was my fault. Peter is hurt, and it's all my fault._ Oh my gosh, what if he dies?! _Peter is hurt, and it's all my fault._

3 hours earlier—

I was angrily tinkering in my lab, working on a project Dad had approved. It was a boring chemistry problem sheet that I knew all the answers to already, but I did the experiments for fun anyway. On a normal Saturday, I'd help Dad with some SI stuff and go eat dinner with the Parker, but I was grounded. Being grounded by Iron Man was _the worst._ He could be so overprotective. I wasn't even allowed to leave the tower today, on a Saturday. Peter would be out on patrol right about now; he wasn't grounded anymore. Pete always patrolled for longer on Saturdays, and Ned was sick today, so Spidey would probably be out all day.

I was mixing and mixing. The minutes felt like hours, but soon enough, it was 6:30. We'd be eating dinner soon. Only then did I notice the alert. My earpiece could only be activated by my dad, but this alert wasn't from him.

 ** _Karen was offline._**

Oh, God. The alert mentioned him taking a blast with the suit. He could be dead. "Track Karen's last-known location," I said my throat closing. But of course, Alex was turned off. So instead, I called Dad.

The phone rang. Once, twice, three times. My fingers traced my collarbone. I did that when I was nervous, like Dad tracing his arc reactor when his anxiety acted up.

"Kate. What's up? Before you ask, no you may not leave the house," Dad replied, sounding bored with his meetings.

"Have you seen the alert?!" my voice was high with panic. "The suit took a blast. He's offline. Code pest control." Yes, the name was a bit funny, but you never knew who was listening in.

I heard a sharp intake of breath. "I'm leaving right now. You stay there."

"Absolutely not!" I screamed back. You could almost hear him wince from my outburst. "Dad, I've- I've already lost him too. Just, let me come. _Please_ ," I begged, my voice dropping to a whisper.

"Fine. I'm activating Alex."

"Should I- "Alex began.

"Yeah, suit up A," I said. Instantly, the suit began to materialize. It fell over me like a blanket. My thrusters activated, and I started off towards Peter.

-o-

As I flew, I imagined every possible thing that could go wrong. It was a miracle I didn't crash; I couldn't control anything right about now. Once I landed at the site, however, it was nothing I had thought of.

There was an explosion. That much was obvious. I found a broken sign on the ground that read "Bank of Queens". Tracking the marks left by the bomb, the purpose became clear. Someone blew up the safe entrance. But I was still confused. Peter's suit should be able to withstand a blast three times this size. What turned Karen off? My racing heartbeat made it hard to focus, and I was crying.

I decided not to worry about the bad guys. This was an emergency, and I wasn't fighting crime. Just using my suit to help me in a dangerous situation, right? Dad would be proud. I tried to focus. _Find Peter_ , I thought. _Oh, what if he's hurt?!_ I couldn't think; I couldn't breathe. I was supposed to keep him _safe_. Dad flew in behind me, but I hardly noticed him. I couldn't focus on anything but my Peter. When I finally got to the back of the bank (or is it crime scene now?), I saw Peter. He was lying approximately twelve feet from the center of the explosion, enough to seriously harm or kill a normal guy. Who knew what that could do to him. He was unconscious, and his mask was partially up. I quickly pulled it back over his head, wrapped my arms around him, and started to head back to the tower.

A voice broke my focus. "Honey, we need to take him to Bruce," Dad said, stepping toward me cautiously. Realizing he was right, I powered up my thrusters, and we took off with Peter in tow. Alex activated autopilot, which was a good ideal Flying at top speed is a bit hard when you can't see past the tears in your eyes and your hurt boyfriend in your arms.

-o-

When I arrived at the compound, Uncle Bruce and Dr. Strange were both waiting outside. They almost sprinted to my side.

"Are you alright Tony? Why were you not in your meeting? I thought you were hurt…" Bruce sputtered, trailing off into his own thoughts.

"We're f-f-fine," I struggled to reply through my sobs. "But Peter, oh Dad!" I cried, falling into his chest and hugging him. Uncle Bruce took Peter, and Strange and he raced inside. "It's all my fault. I should have checked up on him sooner, but his suit must have malfunctioned. It was off, so I didn't know! I should have known; it's all my fault," I mumbled, more to myself than him. Dad went stiff, and I realized I made him uncomfortable with my hug. I started to pull away, but he wrapped his arms around me into an even tighter hug.

"Don't say that. Ever again. I can't _stand_ it. This wasn't your fault; in fact, I have something to tell you," he said, gently guiding me inside. We sat down, and he opened a hologram. "Honey," he started, nervously showing me the data. "The suit didn't fail, see here?" The screen read all the dates the suit was turned on and off. The latest entry read '5:30, manual shut down'.

"He turned it off? Why?" I asked, confusion falling over me like a cloud. The suit didn't break down?

"Well, while I can't say exactly, you have to remember I've been in similar situations. Knowing Peter, I uh…. I think he turned it off, so you wouldn't be notified," he paused, letting it sink in. "Of course, you were notified anyway, but he, most likely, didn't want you to worry or blame yourself," Dad said softly. He looked almost as hurt as I did. His eyes were puffy and red and adorned with bags beneath them. For the first time today, I actually looked at him, pulling my eyes off of the screen. He was shaking slightly and gripping his left arm. Normally, I would offer him some reassurance, but I had none to give. _It was my fault, and Peter didn't want me to know._

After a little while, we heard a small voice from the hall. "Um, would you like to hear our diagnosis?" Bruce's voice rang out.

"Yes, for heaven's sake, get in here Banner," Dad called.

Bruce walked in, looking like a deer in headlights. He thought he was intruding, that much was obvious. "Well, Peter is still unconscious, but he will survive. He has a leg broken in three places, and it was partially healed when we found him," _my fault_ , I thought. "But we re-broke it, and it's healing properly now. Strange found no sign of brain damage, but he has a major concussion. Obviously, his heightened senses didn't help with this. Too much input. He also has some internal bleeding," he said, and Dad took in a shaky breath. Siberia and Afghanistan, my dad had had his fair share of internal bleeding. I think he could go his whole life without ever bleeding again, and it still would be too much. "But yeah, he'll survive. He should be up in an hour or so. Would you like to see him?" He asked.

I'm sure any sane person would want to see their hurt boyfriend, but I was not that person, nor was I sane now. I ran into my lab and blocked everyone's access. My heart was pounding. I fell to the floor, sobbing. My hands were shaking, and I clenched my jaw tight. Everything was moving too fast; the room was spinning. My breaths came in staggers to match the racing pulse of my heartbeat. Alex's voice rang out over the room, but I barely heard it.

"Ma'am, you are suffering a severe panic attack. It may be guilt-induced," she said, sounding worried. Or maybe that was me, worried. I pulled my knees to my chest and rocked back and forth. This was too much. She said something else about notifying someone, but I didn't pay any attention.

 **Peter was hurt, and it was all my fault.**


	5. The Fight

**Author's Note: Hope you all enjoy this week's edition! Please leave some reviews, and don't forget to favorite or follow!**

"Katelyn?" My mother's small voice rang out from under the door. I ignored it. I was honestly surprised. She had come home from work early. Usually, Dad did all this feelings stuff. Not that he was great at it. "Darling, you have to let me in," she begged, but I didn't move. I needed to be alone right now. The lab was locked, and I had hacked the code, disabling their access. They could get in if they tried hard enough, but I just wanted to be alone.

Her voice broke through my thoughts. "Alright, don't let me in. Can we talk?" I just whimpered in response. "You have to know this isn't your fault, Katelyn. He shouldn't have turned off his suit. It's built to protect him. You helped build it, for crying out loud!" She said gently. She was walking on eggshells around me like I could break at any second. I thought I already had.

The lab didn't really have a door. It was open-concept, but the wall (door) could be brought down by my command. I heard the engines spinning to life, and the wall started to lift. My first thought was to be mad, but I was too exhausted. I collapsed toward my mother's open arms.

"Mom, is he-" my voice broke, "is he okay? Is he dead?" I asked pinching my eyes closed at the thought.

"He's ok. He woke up about an hour ago," it's been an hour? I thought. "But he wants to see you," she added, releasing herself from my hug. "Love you, honey. Now go talk to him."

I nodded my head in surrender and started towards the med-wing.

-o-

Dad and I almost run into each other at the door of Peter's room. We don't share any words, just a reassuring squeeze of our hands and a nod. He lets me go in first. Holding my breath, I walk in and see Pete. He looks like, well, like a bomb exploded on him. My hand covered my mouth to hide my shock and tears.

"No, it's alright. I get it. I look like shit," he said, chuckling. He immediately regretted it. His hands flew to his stomach as he attempted to mask his pain.

"Pete…" I cried. It was all I could get out. I ran to his side and checked him out for myself. I needed to know. After giving him a thorough checkup, I stepped away and crossed my arms. He braced himself, knowing exactly what was coming.

"Peter Benjamin Parker, I cannot believe you took a bomb to the face." He tried to interrupt, but I cut him off. "Yes, I do sound like my dad, and no, I'm not going to think this through more. I have thought about it long enough. You are banned from all Spiderman duties until further notice," I finished, my voice firm.

"You can't do that! Kate, I am Spider-Man. He's not just some toy I play with. I have to help. What if someone else had gotten hurt?" He argued.

"Then I'm sure their family would be worried sick, also. I'm not letting put yourself in harms-way like that again," I said, my voice rising. His face turned red with anger.

"You're not the boss of me! Okay? I can pick and choose my own battles!"

"You mean pick every single one?!" I shot back.

"This is ridiculous. I did not come here to be criticized. You always do this. You try to control me!" he yelled. "Maybe we should take a break," he added.

I had no comeback to that. My breath hitched in my throat. After what felt like forever, I spoke. "If this is how I'm treated for trying to protect you, then maybe we should," I said with a wavering voice. I knew I was close to tears, and so was he, so I tried to get out of there quickly. However, I did have some dignity, so I managed to throw a dramatic door slam in as I ran away from the med-wing. My dad threw me a glance, obviously having heard the whole thing, but he went in to talk to Peter anyway. That just made me madder, and I stormed down the hall into my room.

-o-

 **AN: Trying a new perspective so you get some IronDad in here! Basically, this is Tony as he protects his daughter. Hope you like it!**

Kate was crying as she left. _Oh no_ , I thought to myself, _now they're both hurt_. I'll have to check up on her soon, but first, I need to give this boy a piece of my mind. Trying to stay calm, I entered.

He was crying too. "Hey Pete, what's up?" I asked, keeping my voice kind and light. _He's hurt_ , I reminded myself.

"Nothing Mr. Stark, I'm fine," he replied with a sniffle. Why couldn't he trust me? He was hurting, and he wouldn't talk to me.

"I'm calling bullshit, kid. You look far from fine," I said. I honestly tried to be nice. I tried to keep the conversation away from Katelyn, but she's my daughter. I couldn't help it. "What happened with Kate?" I ask.

He grimaced. "Mr. Stark," he started.

"Or maybe I should go first." I interrupted. "Here goes. What the hell?!" I scream at him. "Yeah, she was way out of line asking you to quit being Spider-man. Rather, forcing, I guess. But then you go and scream at a girl who's done nothing but worry about you and blame herself for what happened for 12 hours straight! Her mental health is down the drain, and you break UP WITH HER?!" my voice was rising, and I was out of control. My fists were clenched. Seeing the fear in his eyes, I reigned it in a bit. "Just, why?" I asked, much softer now.

He openly sobbed now, not trying to hide it anymore. "I can't do this, Mr. Stark. If she doesn't love Spider-man, she doesn't love me," he said with a voice full of conviction.

I almost laughed. Kids. They overreact to everything. "What makes you think she doesn't love Spidey, kid?" Wasn't it obvious that she was just trying to protect him?

He relaxed at the use of the nickname. "Well, she wants me to quit, so…" he looked at me, confused.

"No, she wants you to take a break. I agree with her, but that's not my concern right now, Parker," my voice grew cold again, "Right now, I'm worried about my daughter and who hurt her. Which, at the moment, is you. So, we're going to put this conversation on hold, but believe me, Aunt May will not be happy." He gave me puppy eyes as I stood up, but for once, I was able to resist. "I'm going to go comfort my daughter," I said, glaring at him as I walked out.

"Hey Friday, alert me if Spider-boy tries anything," I order.

"Yes, boss. Would you like me to lock his window?" she asked, knowing exactly what I meant.

"Please and thank you, Fri, and also lock his door. Some timeout could be good for him. Tell Aunt May what happened," I finished, reaching Kate's door.

I braced myself to be ready for anything, and then I knocked lightly, "Hey kid, ya in there?"

-o-

 **Kate's Perspective**

I pulled my head out of my pillow to Dad's voice. "Hey kid, ya in there?" he asked. I groaned in response.

"Alright, can I come in then?" he questioned again, not scolding me for lack of words. Mom would have.

I knew my dad didn't do love stuff, but I needed someone right about then. "Yes," I said quietly.

The knob turned (Unlike my lab, my room had a door). "Hey," Dad whispered. He sat on my bed next to me and handed me a bag of Hershey's Kisses. "Thought you might need a little pick me up," he said.

I lay my head on his lap and he stroked through my hair. We ate chocolate and cried for hours until Mom got home from work. Friday played soft music in the background and kept us distracted with fun word games. When Mom got home, Friday stopped and told us.

"Mrs. Boss is home. Shall I alert her of your, um, predicament, sir?"

Dad got up despite my whimpers and attempts to pull him back. "Put her through," he said into an earpiece. I couldn't hear their conversation, but I wasn't worried. Most likely, he was just telling her how awful I looked. Honestly, I just wanted Dad back on the bed with me. He finished up and came back. We had just sat down and opened our third bag of Kisses when the door opened again, and Mom walked in.

"Sweetheart!" She exclaimed as she hugged me tightly. We didn't say anything; she just rocked me back and forth for a bit. Dad silently stood up at one point and snuck away. I pretended not to notice. "Let's watch a rom-com and throw popcorn at the screen and the stupidity of it," she said, and she started to braid my hair. We turned on Hitch, one of my all times favorites. Will Smith was great.

"Where's Dad going?" I asked eventually, a little way into the movie.

"He's just dealing with some stuff," she replied without missing a beat. That's my mother, always prepared for nosy interviewers.

"SI stuff or Avengers stuff?" I pestered. I might need to worry if it was the latter. I hated when Dad did Avengers stuff without telling me.

"Don't worry. Just some Dad stuff," she answered, but I wasn't satisfied. She squeezed my shoulders and turned up the volume. "Let's just watch the movie, ok?"

"Do I have to go to school tomorrow?" I speak up again.

"I don't know; that's up to Tony. Please, can we watch? I love Hitch."

"Fine."

The movie went on and many unlucky assistants were asked to bring us ice cream. When it was over, we did our hair, put on some makeup, and got changed. Mom told me that the best way to get over a guy was to look like you were better off without him until even you believed it. I was too mad at Peter to be sad right now, so I went along with it. Once we were dressed up, we decided to go out. We drove to our favorite mall, and, perks of being a billionaire's daughter, I got three new pieces of jewelry from Jared's and a PINK backpack. When we were on our way home, though, the comforting spell was broken. Outside our car window, a security alarm went off, and a red figure was swinging down the street. My Spidey was out fighting crime the day after his injuries! Dad let him out of the med-wing. I slapped at the window, desperate to stop him.

"Goddammit, Mom! He's going to get hurt!" I exclaimed angrily.

Mom whispered to Happy, who was driving us around, then turned to me. She grabbed my arms and pushed me down. "Honey, he's not yours to worry about. You're starting a scene." Sure enough, there were phones out around the car. Happy was a godsend, however, and he easily avoided the crowd.

"Mom, I miss him already," I said, laying my head on her shoulders.

"I know, sweetheart. But you can't control how he reacts. Only how you do. And I hate to press, but people are going to notice that you're single," she replied, her work face back on.

"Mom, I know that. I don't need a CEO right now. I don't need a PR manager. I need my mom," I said, kissing her cheek. She just pulled me into a hug in reply, but I swore that I could hear her cursing Dad under her breath. I saw her discreetly send a text, no doubt to my dad about what had happened. Happy sped home, and I went straight to my lab to distract myself.

I didn't see Dad or Mom the rest of the day, and I didn't go to school either.


	6. Falling all Over Again

**A/N: Sorry this is a shorter chapter. I was having trouble writing what I was thinking this week. Also, yes, it is a bit late. I hurt my ankle and icing plus crutches are really time-consuming. Hope y'all enjoy anyways!**

"Alex, what time is it?" I asked after finishing my fifth project of the night.

"It is currently 4:00 in the morning. For the twenty-first time, I must suggest you go to sleep. You have worked past your ultimate curfew this time, calling Boss," she replied. I was shocked. My ultimate curfew was 4:00 A.M. because sometimes I had to stay up due to nightmares or schoolwork that I didn't finish. But I hadn't stayed up this late in ages. I had lost track of time. Almost immediately, the walls collapsed to reveal a worried Dad.

"Why are you still up? Can't sleep? Nightmares? Alex was supposed to tell me…" he muttered, more to himself than me. His eyes sparked with concern.

"No, Dad. I haven't gone to bed yet. I've been working," I replied, and he openly relaxed. Of course, staying up late wasn't good, but I knew he was happy that he didn't have to worry about how I was sleeping. He handed me a cup of coffee and walked up next to me.

"What're you working on?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, um, see, that's where, well…" I muttered. I had hoped he wouldn't have asked.

But of course, he was too smart for that. He stared past me, eyes landing on the brand-new Spidey suit. "Katelyn," he started to lecture me. He started to look worried again.

"I know," I sighed, cutting him off. He gestured to the door, and we walked to my room. I got washed up and ready for bed, and he climbed into bed next to me. We sat there for an hour before I finally heard a soft snoring next to me. I, however, couldn't sleep, but I was not about to tell him that. I knew that he would stop the entire company just for me and that he'd go crazy if he knew. Silently, I kissed his forehead and went to the guest room so as not to disturb him. He didn't sleep enough; I wanted him to stay asleep.

"Fri, wake me up when he's awake."

-o-

I wasn't surprised, but I was disappointed. He didn't make it very far.

"Miss, Boss is awake. The time is 1:30 A.M. Boss seems to have suffered a nightmare and is in the kitchen," Friday said. I tossed and turned in bed, but I knew he wanted someone to talk to. I just needed to look like I was already awake so he wouldn't feel guilty. In the mirror, I pulled my hair back and put on some concealer to hide my tired lines. Hopefully, he wouldn't know I woke up for him.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a yogurt. Softly, I asked, "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, thanks sweetheart," he lied through his teeth. "What about you?" he asked, suddenly concerned when he realized the time.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm fine. Just a lot going on. I was thinking about, uh, PR stuff. Peter and I were only public for a week, after all," I said, laughing half-heartedly. He shook his head.

"You two are so cute together, but he never deserved you, Kate," he said, walking over to me to ruffle my hair. I cringed. He did that to Pete all the time.

"I wish. It was always the other way around, and you know it."

He just massaged my shoulders. "Well, since we're both awake, wanna watch a movie? Dum-E can make some popcorn," Dad mused. I nodded in affirmation and we snuggled on the couch. We ended up not eating the popcorn, however, because Dum-E burnt it. I tried to rest mentally so as not to be exhausted tomorrow, but I stayed firmly awake throughout the whole thing. Dad needed someone right now, and I was going to be there for him. We watched We Bought a Zoo, and I swear I saw Dad cry a bit when the mom died. He was a softy, but he would never admit it.

-o-

Being a Stark sucked sometimes. I mean, if I wasn't famous, Parker and I could be done. But instead, we had to fake date for another two weeks before we could call it off. We kissed in the cafeteria (granted, a lot less, but still), rode home together (I always climbed to the front when no one was looking), did homework together at Starbucks to ease the paparazzi, and he came along every time I went shopping (so no one got any ideas about me cheating). It was awkward, to say the least. We'd even leave love notes in each other's lockers, but they often read "You can't be so controlling" and "I was only worried about you". Not even Ned and MJ were allowed to know.

Peter Parker, however, is not like most guys. And I was never really over him. So, it's not my fault that this "fake" dating brought us closer.

My notes got a little nicer every day. One time I even complimented his sweater. I received an "I liked your oral report" as thanks. I just wished I could see inside his head. I know that I wanted it to be real, but what if he really was done with me?

We were sitting in history when I decided how to find out. "Pete, wanna come work on homework after school today?" I asked, almost holding my breath. It had been a long time since I was this nervous around a guy, and the only one to ever affect me like this was Peter. I really liked him. I had been so caught up with losing him that I forgot how amazing he was.

"Didn't we do that a few days ago?" he questioned, looking confused. _Dang it_ , I thought, _He thinks Mom put me up to this_.

"Yeah, well, you don't have to. I was just curious," I said, shaking my head at my own stupidity. We just broke up a week and a half ago! Why would he want to date me now? He was _required_ to fake date me. Not his choice.

"Hey, what's on your mind? You've got that look again," he broke my train of thought and pulled my hair out of my face. The teacher started to walk over, so he finished quickly. "Sure. I'll call May."

My mind traveled the rest of the day. I was completely dazed and not focused at all, but none of my teachers noticed. Honestly, I think they were too exhausted to care. Eventually, during 8th period, I got a text for Pete.

 _She says it's cool. See ya_

That was it. He hadn't forgiven me yet. But at least it was a start. I missed him so much. When the period finally ended, I met up with him at my locker.

"Hey," I said with a chuckle _. Ew, who chuckles? That's disgusting,_ I scolded myself. I wish we had never fought. Everything was so awkward now.

"Hey! How was your last period? What was it, science?" he asked, smiling.

I smiled back. "I wasn't even paying attention."

"Ah. You just picked a random class?"

"Exactly," I said with a laugh. I needed more of _this_. Casual stuff. We were too serious. I guess that happens when you have a superhero and billionaire date. We headed out to the car and to the tower. On the way there, I told him I had something to show him. He should get to see it. After finishing our homework, he wanted to patrol, but I told him we had to see the surprise first. I needed him to know I was sorry.

I dragged him into my lab. "So, umm, I'm not good at feelings," I stated.

A smile broke out across his face. He mumbled a reply while twiddling his thumbs. "No, you never were, Stark."

"But," I said, rubbing the back of my neck where I was positive a blush was starting, "I guess you could save this is my apology for being so controlling." With a dramatic flair (What can I say? I'm my father's daughter) I revealed the Spidey suit I had been working on. His face turned from curiosity to shock.

"You made this for me? Why? I thought you hated me," he said, shaking his head with wonder.

"Pete…. I could never hate you. I just worry, is all," I finished. I turned around to avoid any more confrontation. "I hope we can still be friends," I added quietly.

"Of course," he replied just as soft. Most of his attention was on the suit now. It was a newer model of the Iron Spider, complete with a new A.C. function and a prototype for an off-the-grid Karen (in case of future space missions). It also had a direct connection to my suit so I wouldn't miss anything important again. Just because we weren't dating didn't mean I stopped caring for him. If I was telling the truth, I would never stop caring for him. I still loved him. Wait.

Crap. _I still love him._


	7. We're Back Baby- And So is Flash

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took so long to upload. I've been under a ton of stress lately. I made it extra long to make up for it, but it may not be as good as previous chapters. Enjoy!**

Parker and I spend the next week together. Slowly, but surely, our friendship came back, but I was beginning to want more. The notes I left in his locker were sincere and kind. We went out for coffee every other day, and the media didn't suspect a thing. For the first time since, well, ever, my life wasn't a complete mess. Despite my complaints, however, Pete took the suit out every day. He cut patrol down to two hours a day to focus on school, but it was still too much work. His late assignments were piling up. I was constantly offering to help, but I got the same reply each time like I was getting today.

"I'm not cheating, Kate. I need to do this on my own."

"Why? What do you need to prove? It's high school, Spidey; it's more important that you bring the grades up. I know you know the material," I argued.

He scoffed at me and turned his head. I saw his eyes linger over the suit. I was desperate to intervene, but I was this close to losing him. I didn't want to take any chances, so I let him be. I let him put himself in harm's way, even though it was slowly killing me too.

-o-

We walked into the school together, holding hands. I squeezed his affectionately, and to my pleasant surprise, I received a small squeeze in return. It was coming. Slowly. I couldn't wait, though, so I voiced my concern as we sat in the cafe.

"Are we coming back? Or is it just me? 'Cus I really don't want to make that announcement on Saturday," I said, breaking the silence.

He looked at me, shocked, before pulling me into an empty nearby hallway. "Uh, Kate…" he began.

"Oh. Just me. I guess I'll just go."

"No. Not just you. But can we talk about this later?" he begged. I knew Peter was never good with words. Kind of like my Dad.

"Just, the kisses mean something now, right?"

"Of course. They always did, even when I was mad. I said a break," Pete said. I laughed.

"You're crazy, you know that, Parker?" I said between giggles. We went back inside, our hands holding each other just a little bit tighter. I had my Peter back. Honestly, I wouldn't have traded it for the world. The fight brought us closer, made my spider more careful, and led us each to an understanding. I texted Mom the good news, and she canceled all her press plans. The rest of school flew by me, and I was on Cloud 9 the rest of the day. Until lunch, that is.

-o-

"You got a problem with me, Penis?!"

It was the first thing I heard when I walked in. MJ was right behind me, and she looked just as shocked to see this. Flash hadn't been teasing Peter ever since I threatened him. But I quickly found out what was going on.

"If you have a problem with Kate, then _hell yeah_ , I've got a problem with you," Peter's voice rang out. I had only seen him this mad once, and that was when I suggested we tell May about his powers. He really loved her. I looked at Flash to see his response, as did everyone around me. They were making quite a scene, but the teachers hadn't intervened. Yet.

As I looked at Flash, I saw him throw the first punch. I got ready to step in because I knew Peter never fought back. The next thing I saw, however, was another punch, aimed at Flash. Peter punched him. HARD. I saw Flash bounce back and grab his chin. Tears were beading in his eyes after one hit. Pete was barely controlling himself. That was, of course, when the teachers stepped in. They held Flash back as he flung himself toward Peter with newly found rage.

"Screw you, you gold digger! At least you're someone low enough for _her_ to date!" Flash yelled, spitting at me when he mentioned me.

Peter was also being taken to the principal by the teachers, and he let them, but not before yelling something in reply. Something I'd never heard him say before. To be honest, I never thought he _would_ say it.

"Shut up! Don't ever talk about Kate that way! I love her!" he screamed.

I gasped. MJ hugged me and pulled me away from the scene. "Come on, K."

"He loves me…" I said, fresh tears in my eyes. But I snapped out of it quickly. "He didn't hold back!" I exclaimed suddenly, causing MJ to jump.

"You don't think," she started.

"Surely no one will find out," I continued.

"They couldn't," she finished simply.

"God, I hope so."

-o-

Next period, I was called down to the office. On my way in, I was met with a concerned Mom, a mad May, and a very upset Mrs. Thompson. No Flash or Peter in sight. I sat down, looking at the ground and imitating my best 'kicked-puppy' look.

The principal came in and sat down, then gestured for the parents to do the same. "Kate, this is the second time we've had to bring you in here this year. Before, you had a completely clean record, with perfect behavior. What happened? We're all worried about you," he said. _At least it wasn't the AP again_ , I thought, and I visibly relaxed. Until I saw my dad. He walked in, apologized for being late, and glared at me. He looked ready to kill. I shrunk in my seat.

"Could you tell us what happened?" The principal asked. I gulped and sat up.

"Uh, well, I walked into the cafeteria to hear Flash yelling at Peter, asking if he had a problem with him. Then Peter replied that if Flash had a problem with me, then he had a problem with him. And then Flash, umm, Flash punched him," I said, trying to cover the cries in my voice. "So, Peter, well, Flash has punched him before, but he's never punched him back. Today, I guess, was the last straw, so Peter punched him back really hard." I looked at Dad pointedly there. He gave me a worried glance. "Then the teachers intervened, and I left."

"We heard from our lunch staff that more was said after the teachers got involved. Care to elaborate?" The principal questioned, looking at me like I was lying.

"Oh, well, basically Flash said that Peter was a gold digger and had sunk really low, but that made him right for me because I was awful. Then Peter said, 'Screw you' and 'I love her' and yeah." I rushed through that last part, but Mom still noticed and perked up a bit.

My dad looked at the principal, not me, and asked if he could talk to me. Everyone left as he was given permission, but he pulled Mom back in. He then turned to me. "Kate. I don't even know where to begin. You got back together with Parker after he hurt you, then he says he loves you? For crying out loud, I can't keep up. This is the SECOND time in this office. There shouldn't have been a first time. I'd say it's past punishment time," he said.

I didn't know how to reply, but luckily Mom did. "Honey, we punished her last time, and I think it's fair to say that this wasn't her fault. She wasn't even involved. And as to why she and Peter are back together, we can have that discussion when there isn't as much tension."

Dad could never tell Mom no, so he shut up and just glared at me. She held my shoulders and forced me to look at her. "Hey, this s a mom thing, not a PR manager or CEO thing. So, lay it on me. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. No one attacked me. Is Peter alright?" I asked worriedly.

Dad interrupted. "Peter is fine, but Flash will have a lasting bruise."

I winced at his cold tone. Everyone came back in, and Mrs. Thompson looked very mad at me. She didn't say anything, but I knew she didn't care for the Starks much. Flash had an iPhone, never a StarkPhone. The principal told my parents that he didn't find me at fault, then began to address May and Mrs. Thompson. He told us to leave, and I started to head back to class, but my mom pulled me back. "None of that," she whispered, "You should come home. I'll email your teachers."

We got ice cream, then drove the rest of the way home. When we got there, May texted my dad.

 _Peter was told to go home. Can we come over and talk?_ It read. My favorite thing about Friday was her lack of privacy. Jarvis would keep things from us, but ever since Steve and Dad's fight, she told everyone everything. It seemed to calm Dad, in a way. He replied openly in front of us.

 _Fine. But if you haven't yelled at Parker, I will._ About two years ago, May would have never asked to come over, but she was finally realizing what Dad meant to Peter- and what I did. Now they worked together to keep Pete safe. It was adorable, really. I shifted impatiently as I waited for him to show up. Eventually, they came in, and Peter looked awful. Sure, his bruises were already healing, but his hair had been pulled at, his tired lines were pronounced, and he looked super guilty. I wanted to run to him, but May looked mad, so I decided not to.

"So," May said, breaking the silence as Mom brought in some snacks.

"Let's sit down," Dad suggested. They gave each other that Parent™ look. I gazed at Peter, and we locked eyes. I mouthed _I love you too_ to him, and he beamed. We sat on the couch and turned the tv on, checking the news. Unfortunately, we were on there. I had really thought they'd keep this a secret, but of course, the press found out.

"Hello, and welcome back to New York Nightly News. I'm your host, Davey Moore, and wow, do we have some celebrity gossip today. First up, our biggest tea to spill. The genius Katelyn Stark and her recent public boyfriend Peter Parker were in a fight at school today! A boy in their grade, who wishes to remain unnamed, was punched by Peter after talking about Kate. We're glad to know he's protective, but he seems really aggressive! Kids at his school were shocked by his outburst. The boy has a pretty banged up lip, but from this photo just an hour ago, you can see that Peter has hardly any injuries! Is this why Katelyn was keeping their relationship a secret? Is she ashamed? Will the couple last, or is this the final straw? We'll have more on the story later, but next up, we have something on the Kardashians."

I shook my head. This was bad. _Really_ bad.

"I'm sorry, love," Peter said. It was the first thing he'd said to me since the cafeteria.

I looked at him, surprised. "It's fine! You know I don't blame you for what happened. But what did happen? I only heard the second half…" I trailed off, looking to Dad for permission. He nodded, looking curious himself.

"Well, he started telling everyone that he was way smarter than you, then passed around a petition to remove you from Midtown. You know, since it's private, they let people do that. I told him to cut it out and that you were amazing. So, then he called me a gold digger and pointed to me and said, 'If this is what Kate finds attractive, then she obviously isn't smart enough to go here'. His friends started booing and laughing, so I yelled 'Hey!' at him, then you heard the rest," Peter said. I stopped. Obviously, as a Stark, I knew people that had hated me before, but I had never heard someone say such bad things about me in particular. I vowed never to let Flash talk bad about Peter again because damn, it hurt. Tears pricked in my eyes, and I felt protective hands grab my shoulders. Dad.

"Well then, it's settled," he said, like 'it' was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?" I asked between sniffles.

"Duh. I get this Flash kid expelled."

"No! Don't do that! He doesn't deserve that," Peter cried.

"Heck yeah he does, Peter. Don't tell me what to do," Dad said his jaw set with fury. I saw Mom move to comfort him, but he pulled away. "Friday, I'm sure this is more than enough evidence to send to the board?" he asked.

Friday pulled up a video of the fight Peter was just telling us about. "You have a camera on my kid, Stark?" May asked, upset.

"For safety measures. Look, it's helping," Dad said as Friday told him it would work. He sent it to the board- along with a wad of cash- to be approved, and then he turned on a movie. We ate snacks and tried to forget about the Flash thing, but I knew Peter was upset. Poor Flash. He was going to have a hard time now that Tony Stark got him kicked out of a high preparatory school. I almost felt bad for the guy. Almost.


	8. The Secret's Out

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm really sorry it's been a while…. Things have been so crazy lately. You have no idea the stress I've been under. I feel super bad that I haven't had time to write, so thanks for those of you who are still reading! It really means a lot to me to have that confidence boost that you enjoy my crazy ideas and writing.**

The next day at school was chaotic, to say the least. Peter had his head hung in shame the entire day, and it got even worse at Decathlon practice. Flash was, of course, missing.

"Where's the alternate?" MJ asked as we walked in. "Also, you're late, lovebirds. What held you?"

A blush crept up my neck as I responded. It was no secret that Pete and I loved our PDA. "Uh, Flash, he, uh, he got expelled." I barely got it out.

MJ, as always, tried to hide her shock with sarcasm. "You're avoiding my question." But I had known her for years, and it was obvious she was caught off guard. She shook it off quickly. "Whatever, losers. Let's get started."

We ran drills for hours. And by hours, I meant hours. Eventually, we were free to go, but MJ stopped me on our way out. "Uh, there's something I need you to see," she whispered, worry filling her eyes. She led me to a school computer, and Pete followed along like a lost puppy. The computer was already open to our school's gossip site (Since we didn't have access to YouTube, we made use of what we had). But what was really concerning was what was on the site. A picture of Peter next to another of Flash's injuries. It looked bad. And underneath, the title. Wimpy Nerd Breaks Nose of Flash: The Secret Behind It All. I gulped.

"MJ, please tell me they don't know. They can't know."

"Just read it, Kate."

So I did. And they knew. At least, they thought they did. People were finally piecing together his absence and extreme strength. The whole student body thought that Dad created him. People were already forming a crowd outside. Peter stood beside me, uncomfortably stiff. He breathed out, then pinched himself. "Oh my God. What… What now?"

"Well, whatever we do, we go through this together, Pete," I whispered through the raw feeling in my throat.

"Together."

He said it with a sense of finality. I texted Dad to get the press conference ready, and I turned to Peter. "Everyone will finally see how heroic you are," I laughed playfully.

"Who gives a shit. All I care about is you, Kate."

And we kissed, knowing that it would all work itself out.

 **Epilogue- Peter's Point of View**  
I struggled with the tie, trying to remember what May and I saw on that YouTube video. It was hard to believe that after all of this, people would finally know the truth.

"You alright, kiddo?" Mr. Stark called from behind me. He saw my horrible job. "Let me help."

"Oh, it's alright, Mr. Stark," I said. I didn't want him to worry about me.

"We're way past formalities, Peter," he laughed. I didn't. I froze. It was the first time I could remember him actually call me my name. I shook my head, thinking back to when I had first met him. I was such a dork back then. Who knew I'd be dating his daughter, working as an 'intern' for him, and stealing Cap's shield? It was crazy. We finished up and headed to the press conference room. Lucky for me, we were having it at the Compound, so I could feel as at home as possible. I was awful at speaking in front of a crowd. We stopped at the door, and I felt my stomach do a backflip. I wanted to back out, but I couldn't. People knew. I had to do this. I heard my cue to come into the room.

"I'd like to, finally, introduce our newest hero and potential member of the Avengers. Please welcome, Spider-Man.


End file.
